266 Bird - Lore 



body, including the wings. In the spring the molt of the Tanagers and Indigo 

 Bunting and others, in order to regain their bright feathers, is incomplete as 

 the old feathers of the wings and tail are retained. 



It is interesting to examine the young of these birds in their first plumage, 

 which in the male is brighter than the female, for almost invariably they resemble 

 the female, or when there is a difference, the male in winter plumage. It is a 

 well-known fact that the young of animals often summarize in their develop- 

 ment the steps through which their ancestors have passed in the course of their 

 evolution. The plumage of the young birds, therefore, or the winter plumages 

 of the males may often show relationships that one could never guess by ex- 

 amining the breeding plumages. Thus, the immature and winter plumages of 

 the Blackpoll and Bay-breasted Warblers are almost indistinguishablfe, although 

 the adults are so different in the spring. The spotted breasts of young Robins 

 and Bluebirds indicate their relationship to the Thrushes, and the streaked 

 breasts of the young Chipping and Field Sparrows show the typical Sparrow 

 coloration from which the adults have departed. With a very few species, the 

 young in their juvenal plumage are just as bright as the males or even brighter. 

 Young Kingfishers, for example, can scarcely be distinguished from the adults 

 except by the rufous feathers in the band across the breast, and young Downy 

 Woodpeckers tend to have the whole top of the head reddish rather than a 

 mere crescent of red on the nape. 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 



The subject of coloration of birds may seem rather technical to some teachers 

 for presenting to school children, but so many questions have come to the 

 Editor regarding 'albinos' or white birds, regarding winter plumages, the plu- 

 mages of young birds, and the reason for bright and dull colors that it seems 

 best to devote two numbers of this Department to a consideration of the 

 problems involved. After all it is much easier for some teachers to secure 

 feathers for the schoolroom than it is actual birds, and the most conspicuous 

 thing about the feather is its color. Perhaps sometime we will devote an entire 

 lesson to the feather, but in the beginning it is well to consider the feather as a 

 part of the covering of the bird and its color as a part of the bird's coloration. 

 If we are to explain to children the reasons why birds are so beautifully marked 

 or why the particular feather is colored as it is, we must have a general under- 

 standing of the problems involved. It is not difficult, ordinarily, to determine 

 whether the color is due to a pigment or to the structure of the feather, because 

 if it is a pigment it will appear about the same when viewed from any angle 

 while if it is a structural color it will change when held at different angles. 

 Then if the light is allowed to shine through the feather by holding it toward 

 the window, most of the color will disappear unless it is due to pigment. It 

 would all disappear if it were possible to cut out all of the reflected light from 

 other windows or from the walls but there is always sufficient change for one to 



